Crushing College Dreams

As graduation season
swings into high gear, a new economic crisis confronts thousands of this year's
high school and college grads — crushing college student loan debt.

America's
student loan debt recently reached the $1-trillion mark. That's more than our
total credit card and other consumer debt.

Ninety-four percent of
the students who get a college degree take out these loans, up from 45 percent
in 1993, according toThe New
York Times.

The average college grad is saddled with more than $20,000 in
debt by the time she dons her cap and gown. This is a tremendous burden for
young graduates, many of whom are having trouble landing that first job.

Faced with the prospect of even more debt, many delay plans
to attend graduate school. And for those lucky enough to find work, high
monthly student loan bills may mean working two jobs or moving back in with mom
and dad.

While everyone agrees that a college education is the pathway to
greater success in America,
student loan debt is leaving too many graduates stalled at the starting gate.

"Higher education
can't be a luxury," says President Barack Obama. "It is an economic
imperative that every family should be able to afford."

Recognizing the
relationship between education and economic growth, Obama has made boosting America's
lagging college graduation rates one of his top priorities. It's no secret that
rising tuition costs are a major cause of stagnant or declining graduation
rates, especially in communities of color.

Currently, Obama is urging Congress
to renew a 2007 bill that lowered the federal student loan interest rate from
6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. If Congress fails to act, the current rate will
double by July 1, increasing the average student debt burden by $1,000 over the
life of the loan.

The irony of this debate
is that both sides in Congress support an extension of the 3.4-percent rate.
But like earlier fights over raising the debt ceiling and extending the payroll
tax cut, lawmakers are arguing over how to pay for it.

Senate Democrats would
cover the $6-billion cost of the bill by closing some tax loopholes on high
earners. Republicans continue to balk at any perceived tax hikes on the richest
Americans and have made a counter-proposal to cut funding for a preventive
health initiative that is part of Obama's Affordable Care Act.

On the very day that
student loan debt reached the $1-trillion mark, Senate Republicans blocked a
vote to extend the 3.4-percent interest rate on student loans for another year.
It reminded me of an old African proverb: "When elephants fight, the grass
suffers." Thousands of low-income students and their families are
suffering while the two sides in Congress engage in ideological warfare.

College graduation is as important to our national
security as a strong military. But when it comes to funding, education seems to
always take a back seat to war. How much would graduation rates for African
Americans and Latinos rise if they did not have to overcome the added economic
barrier of high student loan debt?

Marc Morial is the president and CEO of the National
Urban League and the former mayor of New
Orleans. www.nul.orgDistributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org)